As Level 5's latest RPG, Rogue Galaxy, gets closer to its Japanese release, more information on the intergalactic science fiction epic continues to surface. The most recent batch of information from the pages of Famitsu Magazine focuses on the game's battles, villains, and bounties.

With its action RPG gameplay, Level 5 seems interested in incorporating more than the standard array of maneuvers in Rogue Galaxy. In addition to normal attack and magic usage, the game will require players to adapt to unique challenges in fighting different enemies. Some enemies, for instance, possess hard outer shells impenetrable by magic or ordinary attacks. In this case, the player would need to jump on the enemy and stomp on the shell in order to force the monster to come out. Others are so large that players will need special items to climb up and reach the enemy's weak point.

Battles in Rogue Galaxy will take place directly on the field map, which is consistent with Level 5 President Akihiro Hino's stated desire to completely avoid load times. An added bonus, though, is that having battles on the main map, without need of shifting to a special combat screen, allows the player to make use of his environment. For example, nearby logs, rocks, and other items can be picked up from the ground and hurled at enemies.

Speaking of fighting enemies, Famitsu also discussed the villains that will function as hero Jester Rogue's adversaries. Three named antagonists are:

Valgog Dreizer: The ambitious and power-hungry President of Daitron Enterprises, Valgog heads up the largest manufacturer of weaponized spaceships in the galaxy and is responsible for much of the military escalation occurring at the time of the story. His corporation creates top of the line battle cruisers and sells them to both sides of a conflict.

Professor Izel: Izel is the Head of Daitron Enterprises Research and Development division. As the chief of R&D, Izel is naturally quite talented, and he has demonstrated skills in both spaceship mechanics as well as biology. The professor is currently conducting top secret experiments on the orders of President Valgog, to whom Izel is very loyal.

Norma Kisley: Officially, Norma is Valgog Dreizer's secretary. Unofficially, there's more than meets the eye where this cold and beautiful woman is concerned. She has the unspoken authority to run most of Daitron Enterprises herself, and she's even been known to give orders to Valgog himself.

In addition to taking on the galaxy's monsters and the ambitions of Daitron Enterprises, Jester and his companions will also make a living as bounty hunters. Rogue Galaxy will contain quite a few powerful monsters who also serve as bounties which Jester can hunt and kill for points. Accumulating bounty points will increase the party's Hunter Ranking, which allows the heroes to acquire items of greater rarity. Being a bounty hunter isn't easy work, though, as the hunting will sometimes have complications thrown into the mix. For instance, Jester may need a particular item to capture a bounty, while some bounties may involve hunting more than just one monster. All of the information on hunted and available bounties will be easily accessible through a Battle Recorder option in the game's menu.

Rogue Galaxy will ship to Japanese retailers on December 8 2005, just in time for the holiday season. No North American release date has been announced, but RPGamer will continue to provide the latest news on the game.